Gardeners define themselves in many ways. Whether you like to work in your yard on the weekend, have a few pots on your balcony or back deck, or a small or large plot where you grow fruits and vegetables for fun or to feed your family, you are a gardener. As a gardener, you may or may not have thought about your connection with honey bees and pollination. In the United States, more than $15 billion dollars worth of crops are pollinated by bees each year. Honey bees also are important in your yard and garden, and what you do there can have an impact on honey bee health.

In nature, bee colonies that survive the longest are those that swarm frequently because they leave their problems behind and start over. But in managed colonies, honey bees do not have the same opportunities to flee or swarm because beekeepers try to prevent swarming so colonies can be larger and maintained over several years or longer. Also, managed colonies are built to high populations and are kept in man-made hives within close proximity to numerous other colonies. These factors intensify the spreading and effects of animal pests.

“In managed hives, beekeepers have to help the bees by managing the pests using integrated pest management as well as creating a stable environment that allows bees to defend the hive successfully.”